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The Challenge |
5 People, a combined age of 250 years, 3,000 miles of ocean... One Goal:
To raise £250,000 for breast cancer research.
The North Atlantic Ocean can be a moody, intimidating place, calm
one minute, terrifying the next. Crossing it, even in the summer time, will
represent some significant challenges:
Fog: The warm moist southwesterly flow of air from the gulf stream moving up
the Atlantic seaboard of the United States will create dense fog as it approaches
the cold Labrador Current coming down from the north. This can create significant
challenges - with both shipping and icebergs.
Ice: Yes, even in June the iceberg limit dips as far South as 37 deg. North.
That's the same latitude as Virginia USA or Lisbon, Portugal. This, combined with ships
and fog, can make passage-making tense.
Storms: While the predominant breeze this time of year is 15 to 20 knots, the
fluctuations in barometric pressure, ocean currents and temperatures can produce
squalls and serious storms with little warning. A day which starts as an easy run
before a southwestery breeze can quickly turn into an upwind battle against gale
force winds.
Seas: With thousands of miles of run, waves can develop into substantial rollers
which can capsize a 47 foot sailboat in a heartbeat. Waves of 12 feet are common with
"rogue waves", measuring two or three times that, not unheard of.
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